Mission teen's estranged half-brother charged in her 2013 killing

IHIT Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound and Mission RCMP Insp. Ted De Jager announce that Matthew Joseph Pernosky, the victim's half-brother, has been charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a body in the 2013 homicide of Rachel Pernosky, in Surrey, on June 27, 2016.Nick Procaylo
/ PNG

Rachel Pernosky’s estranged half-brother has been charged in connection with the Mission teen’s 2013 murder.

Matthew Joseph Pernosky, 31, appeared in provincial court in Abbotsford on Monday to face charges of second-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains by having sexual contact with and disposing of her body.

His next appearance is scheduled for July 11.

Rachel Pernosky, 18, was reported missing on the afternoon of March 16, 2013. She was last seen alive at her home in the 7700-block Kite Street in Mission. Her purse and cellphone were left at her home and social-media communications abruptly stopped.

“Her disappearance was out of character and caused great concern for her family,” said Integrated Homicide Investigation Team spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound.

After three days of searching by police and volunteers, a passerby spotted Pernosky’s body down a steep embankment in the 43400-block Old Orchard Road in Chilliwack.

“It was clear that Rachel had met with foul play and IHIT assumed conduct,” Pound said.

“The randomness of her murder shocked the community of Mission and beyond, and public safety was paramount to all agencies involved.”

However, Pound said, police quickly determined that Pernosky’s murder had not been random, and her half-brother was identified as a suspect early on in the investigation.

Last Thursday, there was sufficient evidence to support charges against Matthew Pernosky — a Richmond resident — and he was arrested the next day without incident. Charges were sworn on Saturday and he made his first court appearance that day.

“This is a tragic case that has left a family with many unanswered questions,” Pound said.

In a written statement, Pernosky’s family said they were grateful and relieved that an arrest had been made three years later, but said they were having difficulty with the fact that an estranged family member had been charged with her murder.

They said there is a “deep void” in their lives, and she is missed and remembered every day.

“Rachel was a mother, daughter, sister and a friend. Rachel’s absence from our lives has left many broken hearts and great devastation,” her family said.

“Her senseless murder has left behind a young boy (he was a year old at the time) who will never know his mother and will one day need answers to questions he should never have to ask.”

Pernosky’s family lamented the fact that she had her whole life ahead of her and will never have the opportunity to live out her dreams.

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